Jumping from a Short North Gallery Hop to dinner in German Village could become a lot easier
under a new COTA plan.

The bus agency is developing a Downtown circulator that would carry riders among the city’s hot
spots, including the Short North, German Village and Arena District and the Greater Columbus
Convention Center.

Specially branded buses would run between those areas on a faster schedule than most COTA lines,
possibly as quickly as 10 minutes between buses, said Marty Stutz, spokesman for the Central Ohio
Transit Authority.

Fares could be reduced or even free.

The circulator is in the planning stages, but COTA is targeting its service change in May 2014
as a potential launching point.

“It’s easily identified by customers who aren’t familiar with transit,” Stutz said. “It’s a way
to connect destinations in the central business district and in areas adjacent.”

Current plans show the circulator running along a loop down High Street and up Front Street,
Stutz said, but the alignment could change as COTA gathers input from riders.

The agency is trying to appeal both to those who live or work Downtown and want to jump between
those high-traffic areas, and to visitors who might want to visit local landmarks but don’t want to
learn COTA’s fixed routes.

“It would be great to have better regular bus service to help folks get down here,” said Shiloh
Todorov, director of the German Village Society. “They don’t have to be challenged by parking, and
it’s something they can plan on.”

Similar circulators have been used in Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., among other
cities, Stutz said.

In Columbus, dedicated buses would jump between special circulator stops in those commercial
areas. The number of stops and where they would go has not been determined.

“We’re always looking for new and better ways to get visitors to the district, maximize the
prosperity economically for our businesses,” said Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short
North Alliance.

Some stops could coincide with existing COTA stops, Stutz said. Others could be added, with new
shelters carrying the circulator flag.

If COTA enacts its plans, it would buy circulator buses that look different from its fixed-route
coaches as part of its normal bus order next year. COTA typically buys about 30 to 40 buses a
year.

Public meetings to discuss the Downtown circulator are scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at 33 N.
High St.; noon Wednesday at 30 E. Broad St.; noon Thursday at 35 E. Chestnut St.; and 6 p.m.
Thursday at 111 Liberty St.